What are your tips for game box restoration? Do you have a good way to colour in those crease marks? I'd love to hear them all! Neil - RMC

@theatheisthammer

2 жыл бұрын

Moonstone is my most expensive Amiga game. And have a copy of settlers on pc special edition which I've seen on eBay for a ridiculas price I've got 1000's of Amiga disks to go through that I bought and from my chdhood,

@senorcapitandiogenes2068

2 жыл бұрын

I suggest naming it the "marvelous decreaseinator"

@catriona_drummond

2 жыл бұрын

Superglue will destroy the paper over time and you'll end up having to fix them over and over again. wood glue is similiar to what bookbinders use and is mostly acid free and won't eat the paper. Ideally you fold a little 90 degree corner from thin cardboard and glue it into the box, connecting both loose ends to make a good connection that isn't just that thin line where they meet. For holding it well together until set, just use clothespins.

@peterwarner9572

2 жыл бұрын

I've used lighter fluid to get rid of tape marks on boxes before - similar effect to acetone I'd imagine and it evaporates off quite quickly

@theatheisthammer

2 жыл бұрын

THE FLATINATOR, THE SMOOTHATRON, THE CRACKBEGONERIZER😂,

Hi, great channel. I've worked for years in preservation sciences and managing museum collections. Here are some hot tips. Avoid using cyanoacrylate ("super glue") on any projects where preservation is a concern. Generally speaking, super glue is not considered archival. Something like PVA (polyvinyl acrylate/acetate) is, though you might have to order the beads in bulk and mix it yourself. Also, there are any number of neutral pH, archival, book-binding tapes on the market. I suggest these for taping box corners. Again, I wouldn't want to apply dyes to creases unless they are from a company producing archival ink like Micron, but even then, color-matching is a concern, and it's not reversible.

@RMCRetro

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your experience. I tried PVA but that just soaks into the card, perhaps there is a higher concentrate you can use and that's where the beads come into it? I'm very happy to evolve these processes and improve them. What are the longer term implications of using super glue vs PVA?

@JeremyRiedel

2 жыл бұрын

@@RMCRetro Yes, PVA can be mixed at any concentration, it is highly versatile in this regard. What you might find readily, and commercially, may not be best for every application, as per your experience. One downside is cure time, it does require patience. The positives outweigh the negatives however, as it is a reversible adhesive (using acetone), and it can maintain some level of flexibility for many decades. Cyanoacrylate is more brittle and has a higher fail rate on a much shorter time scale and, importantly, it's not reversible.

@JeremyRiedel

2 жыл бұрын

Ultimately, I think the important thing is that you're proceeding with care and caution, trying different approaches, and heeding advice. Keep up the great work. I hope to speak with you at some point about a project I have going on across the pond.

@tiemanowo

2 жыл бұрын

@@JeremyRiedel What do you mean that "Cyanoacrylate it's not reversible"? There are products that can de-glue Cyanoacrylate.

@Ishikabibble

2 жыл бұрын

@@tiemanowo Cyanoacrylate can be softened with the application of harsh solvents like acetone that run the risk of attacking inks/etc. Or heat in excess of 350F. It's practically non-reversible for the purposes of archival work because there's a high risk in trying to remove it. PVA glues meanwhile just take vinegar, or much lower applications of heat.

Lighter fluid is a lot gentler than acetone for removing old glue and dried on stickers. It also evapourates very quickly which avoids causing any water damage to the artwork.

Using the metal plate is brilliant. I have done some research into how museums curate their paper objects. I think why most people recommend wood glue is because it's a PVA glue that when dry is still flexible. I think that because you shrinkwrap yours that it should be ok, but over time the very hard super glue could damage the boxes farther and come apart. Most museums use a wheat paste and Japanese rice paper to fix things like the corner tears. The important idea behind this is that you can completely undo it later and use a better technique if one is discovered. I'm still on the fence with re-painting or covering up the box/crease wear. I just haven't seen very good solutions for that yet. Very nice job, the boxes look great.

@willrobinson7599

2 жыл бұрын

Cracking video on how to get them back into a condition that can be displayed. Brilliant idea to shrink wrap it after

I'm a professional book restoration artist, and had never seen your hot plate method, and absolutely love it!

Beautiful. From a something that looks like trash to a collectors treasure, these are truly amazing.

I'm surprised how well that worked. But I think there are probably better ways to apply heat to the smaller boxes. For example, I have seen tiny irons. That might work. Alternatively, I'd probably make some sort of tall structure that is just small enough that the box will fit over it, then iron the box from the top side, instead of the inside.

@dh2032

2 жыл бұрын

travel Irons

@Eduardo_Espinoza

2 жыл бұрын

Same

@RetroRecipes

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Hot PL8-Bit Guy.

@DerekPeldo

2 жыл бұрын

@@RetroRecipes I love seeing everyone I follow commenting in the same videos. Well, almost. Clint probably snuck off to Computer Reset again.

@Doan84

2 жыл бұрын

RC plane heat sealing tool

Nice to see the Zool box restored! Unfortunately it did get damp with others up in my loft! I think it was part of an instruction manual that got stuck to the front of it! Edit :- thanks to another comment I believe it's part of the back of the box from steg the slug! It's fab that it can be part of the cave and give joy to others! It was just sitting in my loft and then my man cupboard under the stairs. Apologies that it was in worse condition than I thought but in a way it's helped to learn the art of restoring.

@waldnew

2 жыл бұрын

Edit after another commentator down below, I believe the mark was from steg the slug! On the back of my box of steg the slug a large part of the picture is missing!

Travel. Iron. I use it on lots of board game boxes. For tape like that, I use "goo gone" which you can find in more places for only a dollar or so. When I have black boxes like this, I use a dry erase black market to fill in the cracks, then wipe away the excess quickly. It doesn't leave a mark and it can fill it some of the micro cracks and even retain the shine. Just something you might want to try. For the dented boxes, I'd be concerned the shrink wrap will just put that dent back in the box. This is why later games came with a box inside the box, ensuring the weak outer box would be completely supported. I also used gummed tape on the inside to rebuild the corners, but I can see how using 65lb to 100lb cover stock tabs cut to size with wood glue would work as well. Also use a lot of magnets to hold things while they dry, big square ones for nice tight corners. Hope some of this helps.,

Its really nice to see the the games themselves being restored as they are every bit as much a part of the experience as the hardware itself, and for the most part forgotten about. Like the idea of the hotplate. Was expecting you just to bring out a travel iron for the smaller boxes, but I guess you've invented the game box "trouser press".

When you shrink wrap make sure you dried a LOT, or the moisture will turn into mold. You can buy some small silica gels packs to avoid that too. I do that to some of my products that stay long time inside a drawer. Gotta love these restoration videos.

@LowlyEidolon

2 жыл бұрын

Gotta throw a small silica packet in each sealed box for sure

@archive3do769

2 жыл бұрын

I was thinking the same.

Surprisingly satisfying! Fantastic job

I’d end up with a steamy box glued to my hands! Great work uncle Neil!

It's funny how the more pristine they look the more they take you back to that era. Like when you opened then as a kid, nostalgia feels good!

You might want to drop some of those silica water absorber packs inside the boxes to keep any residual moisture from causing mold befor eyou shrink wrap them.

Hi. This is very informative. I have a suggestion in removing the sticky thing. I am using a lighter fluid in removing sticky substances. It will not hurt the cardboard. I’m also using it to clean the electronic boards.

Neil, your efforts towards game preservation is appreciated, in a time where the big game companies seem happy to allow their own products to grow old and dissapear you put them to shame with your passion and commitment to preserving these gems of our childhood. Much respect.

Well colour me surprised. I never thought in a million years I’d spend 20 minutes watching someone repairing cardboard boxes. But it was ruddy riveting. I remember those games and the big boxes. 👍👍 And the comment section is a tutorial on archiving processes in itself!! 👍👍

I've had massive success fixing snes/nes/n64 boxes using simply an Iron. Cover with a plain uncoloured cotton tea towel, gently iron with the steam on. Never had to add water to dampen the cardboard. Decent steam iron will do that for you. Works incredbly well with care and patience. Recently did this on a squished Battletanx n64 box and it's perfectly squared once again. Great tips here Neil.

At some point you'll have to resort to bookbinding techniques: to repair long tears, apply adhesiveless fabric "tape" with archival grade adhesive applied. I really like your channel and your shrink-wrap technique for literally preserving the boxes against future handling damage!

Great video did not know you could fix the boxes like that 😅

Thank you so much for taking the time and inventing ways to save this stuff! Very well done!

Retro Pixels are quite the Ebay scalper. I once saw that they were the only Ebay seller in the world to have a copy of Millennium 2.2 for the Amiga. And they had not only one they had 5. between 129 and 169 pounds. buy low, sell high I guess.

@DKTronics70

2 жыл бұрын

They are among a few that are the worst of the worst, and make retro collecting really a waste of time. I once got to 2-3 seconds from winning one of the Amiga classics, the original Lotus Turbo boxed, not the budget version, the original. I bid £20, and RetroPixels beat me by those 2 seconds. I knew it was them because you can still see the winning bidder's feedback number, in brackets, and it matched theirs. A week later, that same game was back on their eBay store for £100, they won it for £21. And it's crap like this that just annoys the hell out of me, because these people, like you said, are simply there to scalp retro collectors - especially those new to collecting, who think this is normal prices. I sent them a message, just saying they are not collectors, or respect of retro, they are there purely to profit off of it. They only reported me, and I got a week's ban from eBay. Total, tossers, wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

@thefishwillbearmed7391

8 ай бұрын

I spent countless hours playing Millennium 2.2 on Amiga as a teenager, very addictive and helped me learn all the moons of the solar system. That and Zak McKracken were my faves, it's mind boggling that they're worth so much decades later!

@catriona_drummond

8 ай бұрын

@@thefishwillbearmed7391 Me as well. as I had no manual or any clues it took me quite some time to figure out how to get copper. XD

I looked into the hot plate method and thought it is worth a shot. Got some other magnets and a 300x400x5 mm steel plate. Tried it out last night and still amazed about the results in levelling bent cardboard. The results are fantastic. Thank you! P.S.: If there is anything I do differently is to add a sheet a baking paper between the cardboard box and the hot plate. Magnets still strong enough and there is no direct contact between the printed and somewhat delicate surface of the box and the steel plate. It means less stress on the cardboard but still produdes great results. P.P.S: in the meantime I looked into the shrinkwrapping part. Some comments here suggests that the shrinkwrap might do more damage over the years than it does good. This refers mostly to hollow boxes with a thin cardboard used as for most computer games. As I am more into restoring into board games and TTRPG I am thankfully dealing with thicker cardboard that might withstand the shrinkwrapp better.

Sooo satisfying! As a boardgamer I tend to buy a bad box boardgames to restore it and here we are you did a great job with card boards! Thanks for the video! 🤩

Looking forward to the RMC - Baumgartner Restoration KZread Colab ;)

We used to buy/trade used games from a shop that repaired & shrink wrapped their game boxes. The results here, really reminds me of that great little games shop..

It's been a good few months since we've enjoyed a solid "Neil cleans things video" 😁

I'm genuinely glad that I have absolutely zero desire to own big box versions of retrogames. Those eBay prices are beyond ridiculous.

Wow, some absolute strokes of genius there! Acetone on the label, wow! Hot plate - gob smacked at how well that worked!

@shmoostead5419

2 жыл бұрын

It was nail varnish remover which is Acetone and an oil like castor or lanolin, I would be careful trying actual acetone.

Let's not trivialise this, it is genius Neil. You can tell when you get serious when the jacket comes off. Thanks for the amazing tip. Domestic goddess here I come.

Thank you so much for sharing your techniques. When I saw you do this briefly in a previous video I was so intrigued and this has answered many of my questions. I have several games console boxes that could benefit from these techniques so will defo be trying them out. Keep up the stella work Neil!

A lot of my factory-sealed games look like they got deformed by the shrink wrap continuing to shrink over the years. It seems to do exactly the kind of damage you are expecting it to prevent. Squeezing the box causes the large flat surfaces to curve in, especially at the corners/edges.

@MusicFanatical1

8 ай бұрын

Yes I have seen this on ebay auctions of shrinkwrapped boxes (board games etc). I'm not sure of the physics why it happens or how long it takes, but sometimes a "mint in sealed box" isn't so mint because of it. And the phenomenon can be used to detect re-wrapping pretending to be original shrinkwrapping (i.e. if it's decades old, shrinkwrapped, and box is not deformed, it could be a misleasing re-wrapped box).

@emmettturner9452

8 ай бұрын

@@MusicFanatical1 Definitely, but a lot of it is down to how they were stored. I gifted my friend a copy of Conker’s Bad Fur Day around 2002 after buying several copies on clearance. I still had some sealed in the hot loft of my accessory building and the boxes were all collapsing in from the shrink wrap. Meanwhile, he never opened his but he took it to college and back over the next decade+ and the box got very tattered. After he saw what mine sold for in 2015 he asked me to sell his copy. Though it was in terrible condition for a sealed game, it did not appear to have shrunk further in the way my other copies did. They were all original Nintendo H-seals with the vent holes in the plastic. In my experience some wraps shrink over time even at room temperatures. Some other seals don’t seem to shrink at all, perhaps because they used a vacuum and heat sealer to perfectly fit the box instead of a material intended to shrink with heat. It could also be cellophane instead of heat shrink but that usually has folded corners.

I am so proud to be a subscriber of this channel ❤️. I'm quite certain that this video will save many games that most would consider junk. Bless you, my friend 🙏

That was a vlog containing whole 20 minutes of relax therapy

Amazing just simply amazing restoration work on the boxes... you are the true knights guardian of the retro realm...

Archival paper tape works wonders, better than glue imo. Been using it to repair magazines/dust jackets, vintage/antique toy boxes etc. for years.

Great job Neil! I love how they came out!

That was arguably the single most satisfying restore video I've ever seen. Brilliant work that.

I just discovered your channel from this video. It was immensely satisfying to watch. Thanks.

Love the retro-mag-plate idea, Neil! I will be trying this one out.

Blown away by the results. Nice!

Not the same subject matter, but retro toy related. Just recently moved house & found all of my old Transformers, all boxed, but obviously with wear. This method is the one I'll be using to bring the boxes back to life. This was a great vid & it's just majestic to see how yourself, this channel & the crowd of us that follow, have grown over the years. Your never ending pursuit & sheer determination of giving absolutely everything to this, is the reason we are all where we are now 👍 As always, outstanding, Neil 👍

For the creases, you could go to a paint shop and get a color matched touch-up paint pen made. Like the thing you can buy for car scratches.

This video was really satisfying. Thank you!

Love it. Great Video, lots of nostalgia and really nice seeing someone handling a piece of childhood with care

So neat, so effective and such great results. Marvellous!

Used the ironing method, except I use a small portable iron. Its small enough to fit most game boxes. Also, try to do some edges at first, some boxes has plastic film on top, and hot ironing it will ruin the art. In that case, I borrow cloth steamer, steam it from behind the art and leave heavy books on it for a few hours. For torn up boxes, I usually just made an inner shell from a card stock. for torn up edges, I usually reinforced the edges with card stock paper and thin glue. Much stronger that way.

Hello RMC, Mr.LED here, freakin nice video man! I can try to fix some of my boxes with these techniques, thanks man!😁

Brilliant! Maybe I could use some of these techniques to fix up some boxes in my collection. Thanks a bunch for the techniques and inspiration!

Well done and great inventiveness! They look amazing.

this is really dope- The sheer amount of love for this stuff-

"Retro Board" is a nice method naming next to retro bright.. 🤗 Nice job! Saved them fully👍🏻

INCREDIBLE work

Hi Neil, regarding re-shrink wrapping to keep the boxes in the shop looking neat, you might want to check out VWestlife's recent upload "Don't keep your vinyl records sealed!" - it turns out shrink wrap continues to shrink and it can even squash boxes! You probably have a good number of years, but it seems like something to keep half an eye on.

@RMCRetro

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! I'll keep a close eye on this. The plastic cassette boxes will be fine, the card boxes I'll monitor. This is not how they are stored in the main store room but is very much a display/exhibition for visitors, so like all displays they will need to be cleaned, rewrapped and kept in good condition or people won't enjoy them.

Video concept is right up my alley. Awesome. I want to fix a few of my trashed boxes.

Great vid! One of the most original and useful yet!

When it comes to original packing restoration, I don't cut any corners....(or bash them in), pun intended!😊 For bullet hole type damage, I create a paper powder solution which contains a mixture of, powdered paper, starch , & PVA glue, use a flat aluminium sheet piece (preferably from a soda can) for support while building up the missing material like a filler, then use the finest grade of sand paper to sand the excess filler until flush with the original surface. Then using felt tip pens, colour match the original artwork, dot by dot.🙂👍 Let's call you're restoration technique, "Hotboxing It"

Wow amazing results well done 👏

A treat to watch you saving game boxes.

Absolutely amazing!!! To think of all the beat up boxes I've thrown away over the years.

I collect vintage board games. These are notorious for having things stacked on top of them so lots of bowed box tops, bottoms, side panels and broken corners. A technique I use is to cut a sheet of wax paper to cover the area you want flattened. I spritz the area with water and cover it with the wax paper. I lay the box on a hard flat surface, floor, tabletop, etc. I then stack heavy books and let it set for several hours or overnight. You do have to be careful and not over do the water as it make wrinkle the art work on the box. For broken corners I use metal right angle brackets, these come in different sizes. I glue the broken corners like you did and them clamp on the metal braces to support the corners while the glue dries. Finally, you can also use "naptha" like you did the acetone. Its also called lighter fluid. This will remove many tape residues and stickers that people use to do repairs. Like anything you need to find a test area first.

The best tips for restaurations you got from Hot Wheels Community. There are a lot of cool and stunning restauration vids online

Amazing work! This is great information and very out of the box thinking to repair the boxes. Would have never thought to make a custom hotplate let alone break out the spray bottle and iron. I've been experimenting with making my own reproduction boxes for my personal collection and this is great info to have and expand upon to preserve these old games and their packaging.

Wonderful wonderful video, and great results to boot. Very well done!

Absolutely brilliant! I don't have any old video game boxes, but I do have tabletop RPG boxes that this technique would be perfect for!

I am low-key super anxious about those magnets in close proximity to the magnetic media in the boxes.

Obsession level is off the roof. Which is a good thing. Good work!

I think the results were awesome and any big box game/software that is saved from the trash is a win to me. Great job! I liked your FlatBoxHotBlock™ invention as well, worked perfectly.

Need more of this.

I am really surprised with how well these worked. Wonderfully done.

Impressive and very helpful

Great tips. I'm am definitely going to try that out

Great video and tips from others - thank you!

Well done sir! They came out lovely!

Life changing and informative

Great job as always! You can also try the addition of additional internal carton corners that are glued to the external sides, that way the corners are sturdier, and you don't jeopardize the fragile torn ones.

Well done mate! That worked out better than I was expecting it. Community came through in spades here!

nice work mate!

Welcome to the Retro Repair Shop 😀 Great video, those boxes turned out great with that method, very well done!! Many others would've just binned them...glad you didn't!!

Amazing stuff, thanks

The results seem pretty good. I'll have to give this a try on some of my old boxes that are in rough shape one of these days.

Great work!

amazing! i definetly need such an shring wrap machine

This is also great for us Avalon Hill/Classic Board War Games Collectors!!! Great Video!

This is unbelievable!

Just rewatched your Trash to Treasure on the Amiga 500. Wow you have come a long a way.

MagFlat MagSteam Or to tie in to a classic TV brand...MagnaBox. I'm not the best at branding but hey. :) I love seeing old boxes restored like this with inventive techniques. I hope this catches on!

thanks for the tips. ive been meaning to get rid of my "junk" on ebay and this will help me make those sales much easier

Some good tips in this video. Cheers!

Absolutely Fantastic.

I never knew you can get it so nice with the wrap by just heating it! Amazing

So satisfying to look at..nice job! 👍

this channel is just great

I don't know if you can fix printed cardboard (paperboard), as the creases causes the loss of that top layer of paper that gives the box it's shininess. Without putting a sticker, or paper veneer over the whole front, any thing you do is going to stand out. What you can do to minimize the crease is to lightly go over it with artist grade wax crayons, or wax pencil crayons of the same colour. Same as you do with nicks in wood furniture. This won't get rid of the crease just make it stand out less. Using paint, or marker will soak into the lower paper layers giving you a different texture, and color. I would just fix the structural damage, and keep the rest as is.

Great work, Neil. Those look so much better. Agree with your thoughts on markers etc to cover the creases

RMC going full Baumgartner Restaurations :)

This video fills a need inside of me.

Nice very nice restoration i love retro art i still wait for list all Your games and boxcover art databese :) Thanks. Cheers from Poland!

Great! Now you made me want to buy a shrink wrap machine and shrink wrap everything in vicinity...